Rio’s critical move into critical minerals
Rio Tinto (ASX: RIO) and partner Indium Corporation have successfully extracted its first primary gallium as part of a research and development project.
The project aims to produce commercial quantities of the critical mineral present in the bauxite processed at Rio’s Vaudreuil refinery in Quebec in Canada, the country’s one and only alumina refinery.
Gallium is used in key sectors including the manufacturing high-performance radars, smartphones, electric vehicles and laptops.
The mineral is produced in limited quantities across the globe with only an estimate 600t produced annually.
Rio Tinto chief executive Jérôme Pécresse commented on the extraction.
‘‘We are very proud to announce this significant milestone in our important research and development project to extract gallium from our aluminium operations in Quebec,” he said.
“Together, through this innovative partnership, Rio Tinto and Indium Corporation strive to strengthen the North American supply chain for gallium, a critical and strategic mineral.’’
The next phase of the project will assess extraction techniques to enable the production of larger quantities at pilot-scale.
If successful, the company intends to build a demonstration plant in Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean, that will be financially supported by the Quebec Government, that will have a capacity of up to 3.5t of gallium annually.
The transition to a commercial-scale plant could see production increase to 40t annually which represents 5-10% of the world’s current gallium production.
Indium Corporation president and chief executive Ross Bernston also commented on the achievement.
“This achievement is a major milestone, reflecting our dedication to global industrial needs by ensuring a sustainable supply of gallium,” he said.
“Our joint efforts are positioning North America as a leader in critical material production.”
Rio Tinto continues to assess ways it can incorporate critical minerals exploration and processing into its current operations to reinforce supply chains and keep up with globally shifting resource demands.